medical coding training at home.
If you've seen the ads all over the internet, stating that you can work at home doing medical coding after learning online how to do it, then think again. I find there is a slight catch to all the hype going around. You might want to consider the following points before you spend the money to learn to work at home as a medical coder.
- If you desire to train as a medical coder, find a reputable and accredited college nearby to learn this skill. Coding is difficult to understand at first and it really takes learning in a class setting to be effective. I myself learned how to code in a classroom setting and I was able to feel comfortable with it and finish classes with a good understanding of it. My sister-in-law, however, tried to learn how to code through an online program and she ended up quitting because it was just too hard to grasp that way. �
- If you do decide to take coding classes at a college, keep in mind that most employers don't really care about the technical certificate you may obtain from the college itself. Your ultimate goal in the end is to become certified by either the American Health Information Management Association (AHIMA) or the American Academy of Professional Coders (AAPC).
- Keep in mind that after you have trained to become a medical coder, if you want to obtain your credentials by becoming certified, you will have to pay a fee to take a certification exam. You may also have to pay to become a member of either of the above listed organizations in order to take the exam. I highly recommend you do a little research of your own on becoming certified before you spend the money to become trained in the first place.
- Finally, I have yet to see a company that hires coders online without the coder having at least two to three years of experience in an actual medical office first. This means that you will not be able to work at home as a medical coder if you have just finished learning how to do it.
I hope this has been informative to someone. I wish I had known all of these points before I spent the time and money on learning how to code myself.
medical coding training at home.